Community Ho Ho Ho Parade Tradition Beloved by City

SAN BERNARDINO>>The 4th Annual Community Ho Ho Ho Parade brought joy and Christmas Spirit to the residents of San Bernardino for three days from Dec. 13 -15. Each parade began with a departure party allowing community members to see the parade off then ending at an after party where a movie would be playing at a designated park for the children. There was also food and hot chocolate served to the onlookers of the parade, along with Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch to greet everyone. The Ho Ho Ho Parade has been a decade’s long tradition in the City of San Bernardino that was ran by the local City Police and Fire Department. However, ebbie Matley, Secretary for the Ho Ho Ho parade organization, said during San Bernardino’s bankruptcy in 2013, the city’s police and fire department found that they had no choice but to cancel the parade for that year. The future of the parade was unclear if they would be able to continue the tradition during this difficult time. But the community came together and asked the city if they could raise funds to continue the parade. “We couldn’t let this tradition die out, so a group of us came together to continue the tradition,” Matley said. After coming together the community had organized a group of decorated classic cars to parade around in San Bernardino within six weeks. Thus the Community Ho Ho Ho Parade was born allowing a tradition to continue on for many San Bernardino residents. The parade stars many members of the community in classic cars that are decorated with Christmas lights along with many beloved Christmas characters riding shotgun. Santa Claus is featured in the parade riding in a Mustang convertible. Matley described this year’s parades as one of their biggest since the Ho Ho Ho Parade that has been run by the community.